Stricter Abortion Rules Up For Possible Senate Vote Today.

The state Senate could vote as soon as today on legislation that would increase state oversight of abortion clinics, but that critics say is really just a proxy battle over a woman’s right to the procedure.

The majority-Republican chamber could give final approval today to legislation sponsored by Sen. Patricia Vance, R-Cumberland, that would hold abortion clinics to the same standard as so-called “ambulatory surgery clinics,” or licensed outpatient facilities, where people are treated and released on the same day.

“It’s clear now that restricting reproductive rights is a priority for the Legislature,” said Andrew Hoover, the legislative director for the state branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. “Forget people who are out of work or on the street. Abortion is a high priority.” A trio of abortion bills this term have moved with surprising speed in a year in which legislative action on a host of crucial issues – from school choice to tort reform or even the state budget – has been slow to non-existent.

Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, said that if the outpatient standards had been in place earlier, then what happened in the Gosnell clinic would have been avoided or “come to light much sooner.”

“This is important health and safety regulation and should have been in place much sooner,” Geer said.

Hoover dismissed those arguments, charging that a failure of government oversight, not existing law, led to the tragedy within Gosnell's clinic.

Hoover said it’s not clear when the House might take up White’s proposal, which he also said was aimed at curtailing access to a legal procedure. Geer said White’s language brings Pennsylvania into line with “historic” prohibitions against using tax dollars for abortion.